The government has changed how it allocates funding to local authorities, called the “Fair Funding Review”.
This means that more deprived areas are getting a greater proportion of the money.
While there are pockets of very high deprivation around Weston-super-Mare, on average North Somerset is among the least deprived 20% areas in the country. So the amount of money the council gets from government is now lower than it would have expected.
North Somerset’s government grant was cut by £6m next year. The extra increase in council tax raises £5.9m – causing Bell to describe it as “a council tax rise that has been made in Westminster and in Whitehall”.
North Somerset was one of only seven councils in the country where the government agreed it would be necessary to raise council tax beyond normal limits this year.
